Musical whistle



March 8, 1949. v. R. KIMPLE 2,463,630

- MUSICAL WHISTLE Filed May 1, 1946 z; V'ryz'lRffi'm vla Patented Mar.8, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MUSICAL WHISTLE Virgil R. Kimple,Los Angeles, Calif.

Application May 1, 1946, Serial No. 666,366

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a novel construction of musical instrument andmore particularly to a musical whistle adapted to be held between thelips and operated by exhaling air therethrough.

More particularly, it is an aim of the invention to provide a whistleprovided with a tongue rest against which the tongue is placed and bymeans of variation of pressure and movement of the tongue relativelythereto variations of tone and pitch of the sounds produced by thewhistle may be accomplished for realistically simulating the whistles ofvarious birds.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a whistle ofextremely simple construction which is capable of being economicallymanufactured and sold, which is safe to use and which may be readilymaintained in a sanitary condition.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafterbecome more fully apparent from the following description of thedrawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the musical whistle;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view thereof;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the whistle;

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view thereof;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along aplane as indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 2 and showing the whistlein an applied position in the mouth, and

Figure 6 is a rear elevational view of the whistle.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the musical whistle in itsentirety is designated generally I. The whistle 1 may be formed of anysuitable material including plastics, rubber, wood or rubber compositionand may be molded from a single piece of any one of such materials.

The whistle 1 includes a body portion, designated generally 8 having aplate 9 projecting outwardly from its forward side and intermediate ofits upper and lower ends. The plate 9 is laterally enlarged adjacent itsouter, free end, as best seen in Figure 3, for a purpose which willhereinafter become apparent. A bottom plate 10 projects outwardly fromthe lower end of the body 8 and is disposed beneath a portion of theplate 9. The plate I is relatively short and is tapered from its innerto its outer end, as best seen in Figure 4.

As best seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the forward part of the upperportion of the body 8 is outwardly bowed laterally or horizontally andrearwardly curved from the plate 9 upwardly, as indicated at H. As bestseen in Figure 6, the rear portion of the upper part of the body 8 isprovided with a centrally disposed vertical groove 12 which opens intothe outer portion l l adjacent the upper end thereof. The inner face ofthe upper portion of the body 8 is provided with corresponding inwardlybowed surfaces l3, located on either side of the groove l2 and forming atongue rest, as illustrated in Figure 5.

As best seen in Figure 5, the lower end of the groove [2 is defined by ahorizontal wall [4 which is disposed on substantially the same plane asthe plate 9 and which is provided with an opening l5 located adjacentthe inner wall of the groove [2. The opening l5 converges downwardly,for a purpose which will hereinafter be described.

The inner face of the lower portion of the body 8, which is disposedbelow the wall l4, includes an upper portion l6 which forms a rearwardlyextending continuation of the portions l3. Beneath the lower rear faceportion IS, the rear face of the body 8 is inclined downwardly andoutwardly toward the bottom plate ID as seen at H. The inner surface ofthe lower portion of the body 8 is provided with a vertically extendinggroove l9 which extends from the underside of the wall hi to the lowerend of the body 8.

Beneath the plate 9 and the wall M, the body 8 is provided with aforwardly and rearwardly extending opening [8' the lower end of which isflared toward the forward end of the body 8 to form an upwardlyextending projection 20 which extends upwardly from the bottom plate l0and which has an upwardly and rearwardly inclined forward face 2| whichdefines the flared lower portion of the opening I8. The rear face of theextension 20 defines the inner wall of the lower portion of the groovel9 and the upper portion of said groove l9 communicates with the innerend of .the opening 18 and forms a part thereof. As best seen in Figure5, the upper portion of the inclined face 2| is disposed substantiallybeneath the opening l5 which opens into the opening 18.

Referring specifically to Figure 5, the body portion 8 is adapted to bepositioned in the mouth with the upper lip resting on the plate 9 andthe lower lip engaging against the underside of the plate ID. The upperand lower lips and the tongue of the user are indicated in dotted linesin Figure 5 at 22, 23 and 24, respectively. With the lip rests 9 and i0thus disposed between the lips 22 and 23, the outer surface 8 ispositioned against the inner side of the upper lip 22 and is shaped togenerally conform thereto. The

tongue 24 is placed with the tip thereof against the lip rest formed bythe portions it. With the instrument I thus disposed in the mouth, theuser exhales through the mouth causing air to be directed, as indicatedby the arrows 24 in Figure 5, over the tongue and into the upper portionof the groove l2, through the opening 15 and outwardly through theopening 18.

The groove l2 forms the tone control groove, the opening 15 the throatand the extension 20 the sounding plate of the instrument. By raisingthe tongue at its base the size of the space between the tongue and thebottom of the mouth will be increased thus producing an enlarged soundchamber so that low tones will be produced by the whistle 1 when air isdirected therethrough as indicated by the arrow 24. Conversely, bylowering the tongue at its base, higher tones will be produced by theair passing through the instrument I. wardly a portion of the top of thetongue will enter the ton-e control groove l2 thereby restricting thesize of said groove and providing additional means for producing highertones. By oscillating the tongue against the tongue rests l3, l3 rapidchanging of tones will result resembling the whistle of song birds andby exhaling the breath in an irregular manner accompanied by anoscillation of the tongue, a double tone or yodeling effect may beproduced.

The tapered shape of the throat l5 permits a more rapid breaking of thetone to realistically simulate the sharp breaking tones of various songbirds.

The enlarged outer portion of the upper lip rest 0 is provided for thepurpose of enlarging the over-all size of the instrument I to obviateany possibility of the instrument becoming lodged in the throat of achild.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously beresorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. In a wind-type musical instrument, a body portion having upper andlower lip rests projecting forwardly therefrom, the upper portion ofsaid body portion being provided with a vertically disposed inwardlyopening groove forming a tone control groove, and said body portionbeing provided with an opening having an end opening outwardly of theforward part thereof between said lip rests and an opposite, upwardlyextending end opening into the lower end of said groove.

2. In a wind-type musical instrument, a body portion having upper andlower lip rests projecting forwardly therefrom, the upper portion ofsaid body portion being provided with a vertically disposed inwardlyopening groove forming a tone control groove, and said body portionbeing provided with an opening having an end opening outwardly of theforward part thereof between said lip rests and an opposite, upwardlyextending end opening into the lower end of said groove, said bodyportion being provided with an upwardly extending sounding platedisposed beneath said opening and having an upwardly and rearwardlyinclined forward face.

As the tongue is thrust for- 3. In a wind-type musical instrument, abody portion having upper and lower lip rests projecting forwardlytherefrom, the upper portion of said body portion being provided with avertically disposed inwardly opening groove forming a tone controlgroove, and said body portion being provided with an opening having anend opening outwardly of the forward part thereof between said lip restsand an opposite, upwardly extending end opening into the lower end ofsaid groove, said last mentioned, upwardly extending portion of theopening being tapered from its upper to its lower end to form arestricted throat.

4. In a musical instrument of the wind type, a body portion adapted tobe disposed in the mouth and having forwardly extending spaced upper andlower lip rests, said body portion having a vertically extendinginwardly or rearwardly opening groove in the upper portion thereof, atransverse, horizontal partition defining the lower end of said groove,said body portion having an opening extending from front to reartherethrough beneath said partition and between the lip rests, saidpartition having a downwardly tapered throat connecting said groove andopening.

5. In a musical instrument of the wind type, a body portion adapted tobe disposed in the mouth and having forwardly extending spaced upper andlower lip rests, said body portion having a vertically extendinginwardly or rearwardly opening groove in the upper portion thereof, atransverse, horizontal partition defining the lower end of said groove,said body portion having an opening extending from front to reartherethrough beneath said partition, said partition having a downwardlytapered throat connecting said groove and opening, said opening having aflared forward end opening outwardly of the body portion between saidlip rests, and an upwardly and rearwardly extending sounding platedefining the flared lower portion of said opening and disposed beneathsaid throat.

6. In a musical instrument of the wind type, a body portion adapted tobe disposed in the mouth and having forwardly extending spaced upper andlower lip rests, said body portion having a vertically extendinginwardly or rearwardly opening groove in the upper portion thereof, atransverse, horizontal partition defining the lower end of said groove,said body portion having an opening extending from front to reartherethrough beneath said partition and between the lip rests, saidpartition having a downward- 1y tapered throat connecting said grooveand opening, the upper part of said body portion having a concave innerface, in which said roove is formed, forming a tongue rest.

VIRGIL R. KIMPLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,092,507 Putman Apr. 7, 19142,197,993 Berry Apr. 23, 1940

